harleyscars Chapter 158 The Bells of the Ritual Garden
Chapter 158 The Bells of the Ritual Garden
The second period in the morning was history, and the old teacher on the podium was reading the textbook in a hypnotic tone.
The classrooms of Liyuan Girls' Academy were filled with a pleasant scent of soap and fabric softener, the kind of scent that young girls would use.
Yu-joo sat by the window, where the sunlight could just reach the edge of her desk, but she moved her chair into the shade.
Youzhu stood straight. From the first day of school, no one saw her slump over in this seat, nor did anyone see her borrow an eraser from the desks in front of or behind her.
The textbook was open to page 30, but Yu-zhu's gaze was actually fixed on an old book in her desk drawer.
She wrapped the book cover tightly with book wrapping paper, and the parchment inside was covered with densely written ideas about a certain bird-themed fairy tale familiar's loop.
Occasionally, eyes would sneak over from the surroundings.
"Even when Kuonji is spacing out, she looks so beautiful..." The girl in the back row whispered to her deskmate.
Yu-chu heard it, but didn't even lift her eyelids.
Here, she plays only a frail and sickly young lady who rarely leaves her home.
Not explaining and ignoring it is the best disguise.
However, the atmosphere in the back row of the classroom was different from usual today.
"Did you hear? This morning, the students from Class B saw Kuonji-kun at the train station."
"What's so special about that? You can see that all the time."
"No! The point is, she was with a super handsome guy! A blond, blue-eyed foreigner, so tall, he looked like a movie star!"
"Really? Kuonji-san usually ignores everyone. Could this be her family's arranged fiancé?"
The girls' whispered gossip drifted intermittently into Yu-zhu's ears.
Her fingers, which were turning the pages, paused slightly, but she didn't even lift her eyelids.
The bell rang for the end of get out of class at noon.
As soon as the old teacher stepped out of the classroom, several girls pushed and shoved each other, crowding around Youzhu's desk.
"Um... Kuonji-kun."
The person leading the group was a usually cheerful girl. She seemed a little nervous, but she couldn't suppress her desire to get closer to the person and find out some gossip.
"Excuse me, everyone's been talking about that foreigner you were walking with on the slope this morning... who is he to you?"
Another girl nearby also leaned in, her eyes shining with curiosity:
"Yeah, yeah, he's so handsome! Is he your relative? Or your bodyguard? Does he speak Japanese?"
Yu-zhu closed the book in the drawer and looked up.
Looking at the inquisitive faces in front of her, a sense of trouble flashed through her mind.
She should have known that going out with that conspicuous man would attract attention, but she didn't expect the topic among these high school girls to spread so quickly.
"He's just a distant relative of my father's." Yu-chu's voice was soft, her tone flat and without any inflection.
"He just arrived in Japan and doesn't know the way around very well, so his family asked me to show him the way."
"Oh, they're relatives!" One of the girls breathed a sigh of relief and, mustering her courage, continued to ask, her tone brimming with barely concealed excitement.
"Where does he live now? Does he have a girlfriend? If there's a chance, could you introduce us...?"
"This is a private matter."
Yuzhu interrupted her directly.
She looked at the girl, her dark eyes devoid of any warmth, and an icy aura that instantly kept people at a distance emanated from her.
The atmosphere suddenly turned cold.
The girls felt uneasy under her gaze and exchanged awkward glances.
"Ah... I see. Sorry, we asked too many questions." The girl in the lead quickly tried to smooth things over, pulling her companion away sheepishly.
"Um... Kuonji-san." A short-haired girl in the seat in front of her mustered up her courage and turned around, her face slightly red.
"Shall we go to the courtyard for lunch today? My mom made a lot of fried shrimp..."
Yu-joo looked at the other person; there was little warmth in those dark eyes, but she didn't seem to feel any disgust either.
"Thank you, but no need," she said calmly.
Before the other person could say anything more, Yuzhu had already grabbed her bag and walked out of the classroom.
Behind her came the comforting voices of other girls: "Oh, Kuonji-san just likes to be alone, don't bother her."
Yu-zhu's usual lunch break spot was an abandoned greenhouse behind the old teaching building.
This place is perpetually dark and cold, and ordinary students would never set foot here.
Yuzhu sat down on a bench in the corner, opened her lunchbox, and took a bite of the lunch that Arthur had prepared in advance.
She unscrewed the thermos and poured out a small cup of black tea.
The greenhouse was quiet, with only the rustling sound of the wind blowing through the glass walls.
Without having to deal with classmates or fake a smile, and away from the crowd, she finally felt a little better and could breathe more easily.
Yuzhu frowned slightly as she recalled the group of chattering girls in the classroom earlier.
Arthur is practically a self-illuminating being; wherever he stands, he attracts countless unwanted glances and troubles.
Next time, we absolutely must not let him get even a step closer to the school.
Yu-chu made a cold decision in her heart.
3:30 p.m.
The school bell at Liyuan Girls' School rang precisely on time, carrying a strong religious connotation, somber and long.
People came and went in the corridor. Youzhu carried a bag and walked along the tree-lined path to the school gate.
Once she stepped out of the wrought iron gate, the surrounding noise gradually faded from her mind.
She finally let out a soft breath as she walked up the long, sloping path leading into the deep mountains.
She didn't hate school, but she definitely didn't like it either.
The school is merely a temporary locker for storing "ordinary people's identities".
Now that school is over and the lockers are locked, she has returned to being the manager of the Misaki Town spiritual vein.
I wonder if Qingzi will start another big argument over trivial matters at the dinner table tonight.
I wonder if my roommate, who lacks common sense, caused any new trouble at the supermarket today.
Yuzhu raised her head, looking in the direction of the Western-style mansion halfway up the mountain, and quickened her pace, stepping on the shadows of the trees.